The duet of plum and blueberry in this any-time-of-day upside-down cake is inspired, no doubt. Although you could have your way when it comes to the type of fruits. Apricots and cherries. Peaches and blueberries. Plums, plums, and more plums. See how that works? Reach for whatever resonates for you—or whatever’s in great abundance and dangerously ripe on your counter.–David Leite

Plum-Blueberry Upside-Down Cake FAQs

What other fruits can I make upside-down cake with?

You can swap in any of your favorite combinations of fruits, or whatever happens to be in season here. If you prefer a single fruit variety, or more of a classic upside-down cake, try this pineapple upside-down cake, this cranberry upside-down cake, or this wonderfully spiced pear and cardamom caramel cake.

What should I do if my cake sticks to the pan?

Our testers had great success with the pan removal directions in the recipe, but, if you flip your cake and don’t hear the thunk of it releasing, simply soak a kitchen towel in very hot water, wring it out and drape it over the bottom of the pan for a few minutes. This should warm the cake enough to help it release. If a few pieces stick to the pan, carefully remove them from the pan and gently nudge back into place.

Can I use frozen blueberries?

Yes! Fresh or frozen will work fine here.

How should I store this cake?

The cooled cake can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, wrap the cake tightly in plastic freeze for up to 3 months.

A couple slices of plum-blueberry upside-down cake on a white plate with a knife resting on the edge of the plate.

Plum-Blueberry Upside-Down Cake

5 / 5 votes
For this plum-blueberry upside-down cake, sweet caramelized fruit crowns a tender sweet cake.
David Leite
CourseDessert
CuisineAmerican
Servings8 servings
Calories347 kcal
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients 

For the topping (a little confusing, as it’s initially on the bottom)

  • 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 4 plums, any variety, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch (12-mm) wedges
  • 1/2 pint blueberries

For the cake

  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons (2 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk, preferably whole milk
  • Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, (optional)

Instructions 

Make the topping

  • Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch round cake pan with 2-inch-high sides, spreading it to evenly cover the bottom of the pan.
  • Lightly press the plums into the syrup in a circle along the edge of the pan. Spread the berries in the center of the pan. (You can set the pan aside to stand at room temperature for up to 3 hours.)

Make the cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and position the oven rack to the center position.
  • Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl.
  • In another bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Gradually add the sugar to the butter and beat until well combined. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
  • Stir the dry ingredients and the milk alternately into the butter mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Spoon the batter over the topping in the pan.
  • Bake the cake until the top is golden and firm and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. 
  • Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
  • Run a small sharp knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake. Place a plate or platter over the pan. Using oven mitts or pot holders, firmly grasp the pan and platter together, then turn them over. Let stand 3 minutes, then gently lift the pan off the cake.
  • Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired. The cake is, as most cakes, best served the day it is baked.
Bon Appetit Desserts

Adapted From

Bon Appetit Desserts

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 portionCalories: 347 kcalCarbohydrates: 66 gProtein: 5 gFat: 8 gSaturated Fat: 4 gMonounsaturated Fat: 2 gTrans Fat: 1 gCholesterol: 63 mgSodium: 104 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 45 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2010 Barbara Fairchild. Photo © 2010 Con Poulos. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

This plum-blueberry upside-down cake is absolutely scrumptious!

The combination of the blueberries made for a sweet and tart topping that played well against the cinnamon in the cake. Goes great with a nice, cold glass of milk. The prep work is a cinch, and it’s a great dessert to serve with guests, since all of the work can be done in advance.

This is a very easy cake to prepare. It looks very nice and tastes good. I prepared it once as in the recipe, and then last Saturday I changed the fruits to apricots and cherries cut in halves, which was also nice and tasty.

I used a Tefal cake pan, which is designed for making French tatins, and that made it easy to turn the cake out without a hitch. It took me only 45 minutes to bake the cake. It was served warm with some mascarpone to five hungry guests and an hour later the plate was in the dishwasher…the best compliment to both recipe and baker.

This is a beautiful, easy, delicious cake that can be made with so many different fruit combinations. The plums and blueberries were delicious. My tasters thought it would be delicious with just blueberries.

If you make it with the plums, I found that cutting four medium-size ones in half, then cutting each half into four slices, yielded the perfect amount to use as a border around the top of the cake.

I baked the cake an hour before the guests arrived and served it with a quenelle of sweetened whipped cream, to which I added powdered sugar and vanilla. It was wonderful, but I’m curious what it would have tasted like served warm with ice cream. Either way, it’s a winner.

The one unfortunate reality is that the cake is not better the next day. It gets a little gooey. While still yummy, it is just not as fabulous.

This plum-blueberry upside-down cake makes a very nice summertime dessert. I could see serving this for breakfast without the vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

A last-minute invitation to a family get-together gave this recipe a chance to really shine. It was easy and uncomplicated to throw together. The next day proved to all what a wonderful combination plums and blueberries can make.

The topping is sweet without being overtly so. As a bonus, there is a subtle tartness from the plums. The cake is dense enough to stand up to the topping. So many people asked for the secret to this one.

The only minor hitch was that it has been such a good year for berries that they are juicier than in the past, and there was a large amount of juice bubbling up and over the sides of the pan. I found that placing the baking dish on a larger sheet pan and tending to juice removal with a bulb baster solved this nicely, leaving me a fairly clean oven and lots of lovely juice for the cake. I served this with a hint of cinnamon sugar in softly whipped cream.

I’m a great big fan of the upside-down cake; like with bundt cakes, I always feel a little like I’m cheating, because the results are so impressive with so little effort! I’m happy to report it worked again!

I made this cake late at night so it would be a first-thing-in-the-morning greeting. When I went downstairs early in the morning, a full quarter of the cake was already gone, and the rest disappeared shortly thereafter.

I envisioned this as a morning treat and didn’t plan on the optional vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, but fortunately we happened to have whipped cream in the fridge. The accent of the whipped cream next to (or atop!) a slice was the most visually pleasing presentation, as this is a darker than usual version of upside-down cake. The blueberries take the center stage position and the plums provide a ring of support encircling them.

Adding to this darker version is the use of dark brown sugar, so not only is the fruit darker, but the cake is as well. As a result, while the cake is lustrous, it’s also more attractive in slices than it was as a whole, a change from how I usually feel about upside-down cakes.

When I got to the store, the pluots were riper and more plentiful than the plums, so I used them. I could easily recommend the pluots again, or any sort of plum — including, for those planning to make this cake later in the season, Italian prune plums.

I’m not really sure why Fairchild feels the cake needs one tablespoon of milk in addition to the half cup. It seemed a little fussy to me, and although I went with it this time, I might not bother again the next time.

I baked this cake in a cast-iron skillet, and made the topping right in the skillet, so it was a one-pan process for me!

My cake tested done at 45 minutes. I removed it and followed the standing, loosening, flipping, standing, and lifting directions precisely and the skillet lifted off the cake perfectly, with not even one small piece of fruit stuck in the pan. Should that happen, however, I’ve found that the fruit can be reattached discreetly while the cake is still warm, and I’ve done this with other upside-down cakes even when multiple areas stuck after I flipped the cake over — another plus for the upside-down cake genre.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appรฉtit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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11 Comments

  1. I was considering this recipe when I found a similar one by David Lebovitz. Identical ingredient list but significantly different ratio for butter and sugar. After a side-by-side comparison, I went with Lebovitz’s recipe but now I’m curious to see how this one would turn out. This calls for more baking this weekend!

  2. 5 stars
    Perfect recipe for the weekend. I found plums in my CSA box this week & have been looking for inspiration. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Deb, our pleasure. Please tell us how it turns out. if you take a picture, I’ll post it.

  3. 5 stars
    This recipe was in Bon Appetit magazine years ago, at which time I made it, loved it, and have been searching for the recipe ever since. Thank you!

    1. You’re very welcome, Jan. Did you just hear our sigh of relief? We know what it’s like to lose a treasured recipe…oh, do we know.